Court stays execution of Navajo man to hear claim of possible jury bias
WASHINGTON - A divided appeals court has stayed the scheduled December execution of Lezmond Mitchell, a Navajo double-murderer, saying it needs time to consider his claim that he was not allowed to question jurors for potential racial bias.
South Phoenix business owners wary of light rail expansion, seek city assistance
PHOENIX – With the rejection of Proposition 105, the expansion of the light rail in south Phoenix will begin in November. A group of businesses is organizing to demand that Phoenix officials support them with subsidies in anticipation of business losses during years of construction.
Restrictive election laws, lack of polls hamper Native American voters, leaders say
PHOENIX – The voting rights of Native Americans in Arizona are routinely suppressed by a slew of requirements and practices, such as photo ID laws and a scarcity of polling places, Navajo and Gila River leaders said Tuesday at a congressional hearing in Phoenix.
ICE officials say immigration crackdowns don’t make them the ‘bad guys’
PHOENIX – Albert Carter, acting field office director of Enforcement Removal Operations, says ICE officials are just doing their job to secure public safety. Arizona immigration activist Salvador Reza disagrees.
Arizona lawmaker brings personal story, gun-reform plea to Washington
WASHINGTON - State Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix, didn't need to tell congressional lawmakers Thursday about the harm firearms can do: She showed them, when she rolled her wheelchair into a House hearing on the costs of gun violence.
March for Our Lives Arizona honors gun-violence victims, plans next steps on reforms
PHOENIX – Congressional candidates and members of the Arizona Legislature spoke at a town hall about gun reform organized by 17-year-old Genesis Rivas, director of special projects for March for Our Lives Arizona.
Arizona official touts ‘holistic’ approach to combating trafficking
WASHINGTON - Human trafficking is a massive problem, which is why Arizona has adopted a "massive approach" to dealing with it, a state official told a gathering of government and business leaders in Washington on Tuesday.
Migrant families sue over ‘extraordinary harms’ of family separation
WASHINGTON - Five asylum-seeking families have sued the government for the "substantial and ongoing trauma" they say they suffered after being separated from one another when they crossed the border from Mexico into Arizona last year.
McCain, McSally: State at forefront on human trafficking, more work remains
WASHINGTON - Officials at a forum on human trafficking said Arizona is "leading at the state level" on prevention, but warned that people need to remain vigilant to what one speaker called a trafficking "epidemic" in the state.
Giffords report claims gun violence in Arizona costs state billions
WASHINGTON - A new report claims that Arizona loses as much as $1.9 billion every year to costs directly associated with gun violence, from lost wages to expenses on everything from health care to police and criminal justice.
Court identifies First Amendment right for witnesses to hear executions
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that witnesses to Arizona executions have a First Amendment right to hear the entire execution process to help determine if executions are done "in a humane and lawful manner."
Arizona Supreme Court: Freedom of speech trumps anti-discrimination law
WASHINGTON - The Arizona Supreme Court Monday sided with two Phoenix women who said a city law aimed at preventing discrimination would have forced them to violate their Christian faith by creating custom invitations for same-sex weddings.
